Method of and apparatus for rolling metal



1. w. SHEPERD SON. METHOD QF AND APPARATUS FOR ROLLING METAL.

, 1920.- EET I.

. APPLlCATlON FILED" JULY 10,1918.

Patented July 27 V 2 SHEETS-SH 1. w. SHEPERDSON. METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR ROLLING METAL. APPLICATION FILED JULY 10.1918.

1,347,917. I PatentedJuly 27 1920. 2 swans-sun 2.

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50. where,

METHOD or Ami APPARATUS FOR ROLLING METAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application fll ed July 10, 1918. Serial No. 244,181.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, JOHN W. SHEPERD- soN, a subject of the Britain, residing at Worcester, in the county 5 of Worcester and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Methods of and Apparatus for Rolling Metal, of which the following, together with the accompanying drawings, is

a specification.

he present invention relates to the rolling of metal rods or bars, or other similar semi-finished-material, into various shapes,

while hot, conby passing the material,

more stands of rolls having suitably shaped cooperating grooves. It is the purpose of the present invention to adapt this usual hot rolling operation to the treatment of semi-finished material, usually of relatively small cross section, as for instance where it may be desired to continuously reduce a rod or bar to a flat band, :or the like. The present invention contemplates the provision of rolling mill apparatus for the above purpose in such a form as to. eliminate the necessity for a furnace to heat the material before its passage through the rolls; ,it will be seen that the apparatus is capable of being "operated whenever desired, and can be started up at will without previous preparation'of'the material to be treated.

My invention is-set forth in detail hereinaftei', reference being had to the accompany- 5 ing drawings, in which Figure 1 represents diagrammaticallyone arrangement of appa-v ratus for-carryin the invention into practice; and Fig. 2 represents diagrammatically a modified form of apparatus; it will be 40 understood, however, that my invention is in no sense confined to the use of the apparatusherein described, but is susceptible of such variations and deviations therefrom as come within the scope of the appended claims.

Great difiiculty has "been experienced heretofore in providing for the economical res duction by hot rolling; of material semifinished, such as rods and bars, especially as is frequently the case, the requirements of working are such that the rolling operation is. p actised only periodically,

with frequent shut-downs ofthe apparatus. Considerable heat must be supplied to the Kingdom of Great .tained at an electrical ring is at an electrical handled with entire safety.

material, even for a small rolling mill installation of this class, and the use of an ordinary heating furnace forthis purpose is attended with great waste; where the rolling is to be discontinued after a short period and then recommenced, the furnace method of heating is practically out of the question, owing to delays in starting up and shutting down, in addition to the waste.

According to the present invention, these difficulties attendant upon the operation of small rolling mill installations are overcome by the use of electrical means for heating the material only while it is in motion, and on its "way to the reducing rolls. As shown in Fig. l of the drawings the material, such as a round rod or wire 1 is continuouslywithdrawn from a reel or other suitable supply device 2, which is suitably disposed on the mill floor. In advance of the reel 2 is disposed an ordinary stand of pinch rolls 3, 3, which are rotated from any suitable source of power, to feed the material for ward,' without reducing or changing its Patented Jul 27, 1920.-

These /latter rolls also act merely as feed rolls, to deliver the material to a stand of reducing rolls 5, are formed cooperating grooves of the re-' quired shape to constitute a reducing pass,

calculated to impart a different cross' section 1 The housings of the rolls 3, 3, and 5, 5, are' to the material.

grounded or otherwise maintained at zero electrical potential, as indicated at 6 and 7 respectivelyin the drawings. The housing of rolls 4, 4 on the other hand is separated from the mill floor by a layer ofsuitable insulating material 8. with the rolls 4, 4, which it carries, is mainpotential, by connection to a suitable source of electric current supply having means for, adjusting its volt; age, as shown at 9 in the drawings. .-It:will thus be seen that only.

potential, the end roll housings and the reel 2 being at zero potential, so that that-part of the material 1 which is exposed at paratus in advance of the rolls' 3 and beyond the rolls 5, is not charged, and can be In the arrangement of apparatus above described the flow of current from the housing theimiddle roll housthewtwo ends of the ap- I continuously 5, in which This housing, together 7 I) of rolls 4, 4, is in opposite directions throu h the material 1 on opposite sides of said ro ls and thence to ground through the housing of rolls 3, 3, and through the housing of rolls 5, 5. As a consequence the material 1 is thoroughly and uniformly heated in its passage to the reducing rolls 5, 5, an initial heating takes place between the rolls 3, 3,

and 4, 4, and a final heating takes place between the rolls 4, 4, and 5, 5. Preferably the same amount of current is caused to on which the operator stands.

flow through the material in each direction from the rolls 4, 4, and owing to the increased resistance of the portion of material which is already heated, before it reaches the rolls 4, 4, it will be necessary, in order to obtain this equalization of c-urrent, t make the distance between the second and third stands much. shorter than the distance between the first and second stands.-

In starting the operation with material taken cold from the reel 2, the end of the stock is fed by hand through th'rolls 3, 3,

and 4,4, and is clamped or secured in electrical connection with the stand of rolls 5, 5. If desired, an adjustable guide 10 may be used for thus clamping the material in place, prior to starting the rolling operation. With the material 1 thus stationary, the current from source 9 is switched on and the voltage thereof gradually brought up until the material has attained a proper rolling.

standing that a portion of the same in charged; these ends are always at zero potential, or the same potential as the floor If desired, the loss of heat from the material by radiation may be minimized by the provision of a suitable conduit or tube of. any suitable material having a low heat conductivity such as shown at 11,- 11, in the drawin s. ther and further modifications and re nements will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, it being clear that the invention is susceptible of wide variation within the scope of the appended claims, from theform and arrangement of apparatus herein shown. The essence of the invention resides in the above described adaptation of the ordinaryhot rolling and reducing operations to work of a special character which requires small installations,

and which can not be carried on economiheating. By the present invention, not only is an economical source of heat provided, but the same is in such a form as to'permit operation of the apparatus for as short a period as desired, without undue loss.

n the arrangement of apparatus shown in Fig. 2, the material/1 is fed by suitable pinchrolls 12, 12, to a stand of, reducing rolls 13, 13, it being understood that in common with the arrangement of apparatus shown in Fig. 1, any desired number of reducing stands may be provided to effect the required reduction of the material. In

the present instance the housings of the stands of -rolls.1'2 and 13 are preferably electrically connected by a bus bar or conductor 14, which is grounded as shown at 15.' Intermediate the stands of, rolls 12 and 13 is disposed a high tension transformer 16 which may be of any well known type, the same providing a primary winding 17 comprising a. multiplicity of turns of wire through which passes an electric current of high volta e and low amperage from a source of a ternating current supply. The secondary winding of the transformer 16 is cofiistituted as shown by an electrical circuit w ich includes that portion of the material 1 which is between the rolls 12 and 13. The remainder of said secondary circuit is constituted by the two roll housings and the connecting conductor 14, so that there is set up by induction in this secondary circuitan alternating current of low voltage and high am erage.

s a result, the material 1 is subjected to heating in its passage between the stands of rolls'12 and 13, it being clear that every portion of the material becomes progressively hotter and hotter as it approaches the reducing rolls 13. Owing to the grounding of. the secondary circuit, as above described, no inconvenience or danger is attendant upon the handling of eitherend of the material 1 beyond the rolls 12 and 13.

The foregoing description of two different arrangements of apparatus for carrying my invention into practice are to be regarded as illustrative merely" of the various ways in which the electrical heating of material which is undergoing reduction by rolling may be performed. It will be clear that my invention is susceptible of numerous other variations than those herein Ishown, such as fall within the terms of the appended claims,

I claim,

' 1. The herein described method of rolling q, metal, which consists in forwarding the metal continuously to a reducing pass, and passing an electric current therethrough in opposite directions while in transit.

2. The herein described method of rolling metal, which consists in forwardingthe metal by a plurality of stands of feed rolls .cally under the ordinary arrangements for .to a reducing pass, and passing an electric current therethrough in optposite directions stand and grounding other of said stands 4; he herein described method of rolling through a plurality of stands of grounded rolls, and through an intermediate stand of insulated rolls, and maintaining an electrical potential upon said intermediate insulated rolls.

5. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with a plurality of standsof rolls for feeding and reducing metal, of means for maintaining a difference in electrical potential between an intermediate stand of rolls and the stands on either side thereof, whereby to cause a flow of current in opposite directions through the metal passing between said stands.

6. In apparatusof the class described, the combination with a plurality of standsaof tain of said stands being grounded, of means for maintaining an electrical potential on another of said stands, whereby to cause a flow of current through the metal between said stand and the grounded stands.

; rolls for feeding and reducmg metal, cer- 7. In'apparatus oi the class described, the

combination with a plurality of stands of rolls for feeding and reducing metal, of means for maintaining said stands at a common zero electrical potential, and means for procuringtheflow of electrical current through a circuit. which includes said stands," and the metal which by said rolls.

Dated this 2nd day of July 1918.

' JOHN W. SHEPERDSON.

Witnesses:

KENNETH B. Lnwrs, FLonnNon C. Coon.

is being operated upon 

